Shafaq News/ The United States is weighing a proposal tohalt and search Iranian oil tankers at sea as part of an internationalframework.
The US president, Donald Trump, has pledged to reinstate his"maximum pressure" campaign to isolate Iran from the global economyand reduce its oil exports to zero in a bid to prevent it from developingnuclear weapons, according to a report by Reuters.
Since the start of his second term, the administration hasimposed two new rounds of sanctions targeting Iranian companies and theso-called "shadow fleet" of aging tankers that operate withoutWestern insurance and transport crude from sanctioned countries.
These efforts align closely with limited measures taken byformer President Joe Biden’s administration, during which Iran managed toincrease its oil exports through complex smuggling networks, the report added.
According to six sources who spoke to Reuters on conditionof anonymity, Trump officials are exploring options to enable “allied nationsto stop and inspect” vessels transiting key chokepoints, such as the Strait ofMalacca in Asia and other major shipping lanes.
The sources said such actions could delay crude deliveriesto refineries and damage the reputations of those facilitating the trade,potentially exposing them to sanctions. "You don’t have to sink ships orarrest people to have that chilling effect that this is just not worth therisk. The delay in delivery ... instills uncertainty in that illicit tradenetwork,” a source told Reuters.
The administration is studying whether such maritimeinspections could take place under the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),launched in 2003 to curb the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.
Another source noted that the mechanism could allow foreigngovernments, at Washington's request, to target Iranian oil shipments,effectively delaying deliveries and disrupting the supply chains Tehran relieson for revenue. However, two sources added that the National Security Council,which shapes White House policy, is currently reviewing the feasibility of suchat-sea inspections.
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